Anyone harbouring reservations about seeing a delicate, often hushed instrumental show at a bar infamous for its noisy crowd might have approached Bing & Ruth at Divan Orange with some trepidation. I myself was not sure what to expect. Turns out there was nothing to worry about.

Local drummer and sound aritst Evan Tighe opened the night by debuting material from his upcoming LP “For The Rower It Was Work,” a real departure from his previous output. These rich yet fleeting tone poems fit squarely in the room, layer upon scintillating layer of synth hanging thick like gauze. At one point it was mentioned that he was still searching for a name for the currently-eponymous project, but despite this missing detail the music itself felt very complete, holding the usually raucous bar in reverent silence.

Filling the middle set was Reves Sonores, the duo composed of pianist Stefan Christoff and producer Nick Schofield and joined tonight by Ari Swan on violin. Each song started as a sparse loop, circling up into slowly-evolving patterns as the piano and violin crept and danced in the spaces between, building into deeply evocative meditations, all dimmed and tinged with blushes of doom, and of hope.

The crowd pressed close as headliners Bing & Ruth set up unhurriedly. With the tables filled and the bar at capacity, dozens sat on the floor, drawn up inches from the quintet’s feet. Composer David Moore hunched over the piano, took a pronounced breath, and delved deep into the set. With the rest of band weaving clarinet, double bass and tape echo throughout, David’s flickering keys anchored the uninterrupted, meandering run. While the muted songs covered a dynamic range of emotions, the core underpinning was sadness. These are dark songs, and they are beautiful. The spell over the room was held tight as the audience partook in the same unpronounceable grief, eventually being shepherded through to the other side.